Upgrading crude oil using electrochemically-generated hydrogen

Abstract

A method for upgrading a petroleum oil by a hydroprocessing reaction in which the oil is hydrogenated, includes the steps of:a. forming a liquid reaction mixture of the oil with water and an amphiphilic liquid in predetermined proportions to thereby render the oil and water miscible;b. introducing the liquid reaction mixture into an electrolytic reactor having one or more cathodic elements formed from a porous high surface area, conductive material;c. operating the reactor to form reactive hydrogen atoms whereby the oil is hydrogenated by the hydrogen atoms;d. removing the liquid mixture from the reactor; ande. separating the hydrogenated upgraded oil from the amphiphilic liquid and any remaining water, e.g., by distillation, recovering and recycling the amphiphilic liquid for use.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]This invention relates to a process and apparatus for hydrogenolyzing crude oil in an electrochemical cell or reactor using hydrogen produced in situ by the cell.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Crude oil and its derivatives are subjected to a number of processes involving the addition of hydrogen in order to maximize, or upgrade, the distillable fractions to thereby obtain a wide variety of different and more valuable compounds. These processes include hydrocracking, hydrodesulfurization in order to lower the sulfur content of the feedstream and hydrotreating to reduce nitrogen, oxygen and / or metal compounds in the treated stream. In the current practice of these processes, a stream of hydrogen is typically introduced into the treatment vessel where it contacts the feedstream in the presence of one or more catalysts. The hydrogen stream is typically generated in a separate unit or facility, often using natural gas, and then purified, compressed and deliv...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a process for upgrading petroleum products using an amphiphilic compound and water. The amphiphilic compound is mixed with liquid water and a petroleum feedstream, and the mixture is then introduced into an electrochemical reactor. The upgraded petroleum product stream and ionic material are removed from the reactor and subjected to a heating step. The heating step vaporizes and recovers the ionic material and any remaining water or upgraded petroleum product stream. The recovered ionic material can be returned for mixing with the heavy oil and water upstream of the reaction vessel. The process uses water as a source of hydrogen, which is cost-effective and eliminates the need for a separate hydrogen production unit. The hydrogen atoms generated at the electrode have higher reactivity compared to hydrogen molecules and require no catalysts to promote the reaction. The process can operate under mild conditions of low pressure and temperature, reducing construction and operational costs.

Problems solved by technology

Thus, the cost of hydrocracking, hydrotreating and other such processes must include the capital and operating costs associated with the construction and operation of the unit and / or facilities required to produce the hydrogen stream.

The method and apparatus of this disclosure is not suitable for use with crude or other heavy mineral oils, since the membrane would be fouled quickly and already has a limited rate of ion transport; also, the membrane apparently has a maximum operating temperature of about 180° C.

However, there remains the principal problem of how to bring the hydrogen and the organic molecules of the mineral oil feedstream into contact in order to allow the hydrogenation to take place, e.g., to form an emulsion, that can include foam, while having to then separate the oil and water mixture.

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